Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-12-30

ihh 9"in' JAIL Al 'hAl lANoo"N'
The jailer advanced to the middle of the
room, and kneeling down, took large
key from his pocket, and applying it to II
hole in the floor gave it turn and then
with n great effort raised q ponderous trap
door right mt my feet. A rush Of hot air,
and n sitting stencil as from the mouth of
the pit, smote me in the face and | in
voluntarily recoiled backward; but the
bayonets of the guard were behind and
there was no escape. The ladder was then
thrust down, and, long as it was it no
more than penetrated the great depth
The wretchcs whose voices l could hear
confusedly murmuring below were ordered
to stand from under and | was compelled
to descend into what seemed more like the
Internal regions than any place on earth
1t was hard to find the steps of the ladder
for the candle of the jailer gave almost
no light and / had on handouts; but |
went down, feeling for each step, to
depth of some thirteen feet. | stepped off
the ladder, treading on human beings [
could not discern, and wedged in as best |
might. Then the ladder was slowly drawn
up, and in n moment more the trap fell
with dull and heavy sound that seemed
crushing down on my heart, and every
ray of light vanished was shut into a
living tomb-buried alive!
| could feel men around me and hear
their breathing in the darkness, so that ]
knew the den was crowded full. Though
it was night and cool outside, the heat here
was more than that of tropic noon, and
the perspiration soon oozed from every
pore. The feted air and the stencil made
me for n time deadly sick, and, worst of all,
there was an almost unbearable sense of
possible that they would leave human be-
ings in such place till death came in this
horrible form-death, which could not be
long delayed. thought of the Black
Hole of Calcutta, where so many English
men were suffocatcd in one terrible night
by savage East Indian; had heard of
negroes being burned alive or whipped to
death in our own south; but these horrors
were always, | supposed, meant as ven
geance for some fiendish outrage. Yet of
all the forms of death, that by slow suffo-
cation had always appeared most dreadful,
and this now seemed imminent.
AS | had been brought to this place in
the dark, | knew nothing Of its character
and after the first moment of stupefaction.
resolved to explore its size and nature.
No one of my companions had vet spoken
to me or | to them. Whether they were
black or white soldiers or citizens, chained
like myself, or with the free use of their
hands, | could not tell, and | scarcely
liked to ask, lest the answer should add
new misery | jambed my way through
the living throng to the wall and felt
along it to learn ii there was door or win
dow. There was no door the only en-
trance to the fearful place being bv the
trap door down which | came. Neither
were there any windows, but | found two
holes in the wall. opposite each other
each little more than n foot square. and
filed with three rows of iron bars. The
walls, as could be told at the holes. were
very thick, being made of an inner case of
oak logs and brick wall outside. Even
in day time, these holes gave little light
for one was close under the outside stair
way already described. and the other he
low the level of the ground Yet n little
air could come through the thick set bars
and served to revive me-makinr il nos
sble to endure life here for n short time
When the first shock had nassed and I
became partially Injured to The terrible
oppression of the atmosphere I fried to
ascertain something of the condition of
my compauions The most fearful de-
scription of this place of torment that can
be given is contained in fine ploin cold
fipures-the number of tho nrisnnors and
tbe size and monnor ~ thai iod,,in,, pa.
fore entarod ,boro ,,ora f,,,.tean ,,i,;to
men md ona nac,ro mr. n,.o,,i,,,, ~
number WINS inoraasod - ,,i,'ot,a,7 a rr,
soon oftor 10 tuant,, t,,.o a. ,,.I,ioh 80
- ,a,,ai,,oI for W., ~ M ~ PM
was inst th;rtoo,, 49, foat $40 ,'h ,ta''t
tbe same IN haia,ht IT, pr'',' n,iu go